Chapter 13 - Elaine’s Confession
Elaine arrived at the legal center that evening without calling.
She no longer wore the elaborate clothes Leah remembered from the mansion. Her coat was simple, her hair loosely pinned, and there was no driver waiting outside.
Leah placed the black ledger on the table.
Elaine did not pretend to be surprised.
“How long have you known?” Leah asked.
“Since Charles was alive.”
Chloe stepped away from the window.
“You knew Dad was moving company money?”
“I knew he had created a reserve.”
“That is not a reserve,” Leah said. “It is a network of hidden accounts.”
Elaine sat down.
Charles Hartwell had discovered that Victor Sloane was paying kickbacks to executives who awarded contracts to businesses he secretly controlled. When Charles threatened to expose him, Sloane showed him evidence that Ryan had already participated.
Charles chose to conceal the scandal.
He created Meridian to move money back into the company quietly, hoping to repair the damage without destroying the Hartwell name.
But Ryan and Sloane gained control of the account.
“What did you do?” Chloe asked.
“I protected your father’s reputation.”
“You protected a lie.”
Elaine accepted the words without argument.
She removed a sealed letter from her coat.
“Charles wrote this before he died. He told me to give it to the authorities if Victor ever approached the company again.”
“Why didn’t you?” Leah asked.
“Because Ryan said he had handled everything.”
Leah almost laughed at the familiar excuse.
Elaine pushed the letter toward Chloe.
“I believed the son I raised instead of the truth his father left behind.”
Chloe opened the letter.
May you like
The first sentence was written in her father’s hand.
If Victor Sloane still controls Meridian, no Hartwell is safe.
